


Face Off

by felineranger



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: Angst, Blow Jobs, Handcuffs, M/M, Masturbation, incestuous implications
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 13:42:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16662039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felineranger/pseuds/felineranger
Summary: When Ace Rimmer hears of the villainous Sebastian Doyle, he means to put an end to his reign of terror.  But what will they both do when they realise that the face of the enemy is...unexpected?





	Face Off

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry. It’s dark and angst-ridden and horrible.
> 
> So, you know. Enjoy. *Shrug*

“Ace, I have detected a universe in need of your heroics,” the computer chirped eagerly.  
“Is that so?  What’s the situation?” Ace leaned over the screen, flicking his hair out of his eyes to read better as info scrolled across the display.  
“This dimension is under the control of a brutal fascist organisation.  They pose as a democracy but corruption and violence keep them in power.  The most feared man of their regime is Colonel Sebastian Doyle, known as The Voter-Colonel.  He has a squadron of secret police who keep the people in a state of constant fear, and deal with any threat or defiance to the party with terrifying ruthlessness.  I would estimate that he is responsible for many thousands of deaths.”  
Ace grimaced, “Charming man.  I think I should pay him a visit.  Where can I find him?”  
“Locating him now.  I should warn you, Ace, be wary.  This universe is peculiar. Its ident is like nothing else in my data file.”  
  
  
It was dark, late, and the Ministry of Alteration building was deserted, apart from a few armed guards who patrolled the entrance and perimeter.  The offices were empty. Except one. In one solitary window, there was still a dim glow of light. The guards didn’t need to check to know whose office it was.  There was only one man who would still be there at this hour, and he wasn’t someone who you disturbed.  
  
Colonel Sebastian Doyle reclined in his deep leather desk chair, a half-empty whiskey glass in one hand, indulging in a little stress relief.  Loretta, head of his elite force and his second-in-command, knelt before him, dutifully sucking his cock. She was one of the very few people in this world he respected and trusted enough to allow this level of intimacy.  He knew there had been idle gossip amongst the masses that they were in love. A foolish notion. Neither of them had time for such sentimentality, and though Loretta was devoted and loyal, and adored him in her own fanatical way, the obsession was not romantic.  Even some of the ministers, who should really have known better, expected them to marry eventually. He didn’t think Loretta herself harboured any such expectations. Their connection was not an emotional one. It was barely even sexual.   
  
Nevertheless, she knew what he liked.  When he felt the first clench of approaching orgasm, he immediately dismissed her, “That will be all, Lieutenant.”    
She got to her feet, saluted, “Sir,” and left without another word.  He knocked back the rest of his whiskey. If only all things were as straightforward.  More and more these days he felt watched. As his power had grown, so had his list of enemies.  They were waiting for any gap in his defences, any weakness to exploit. Thankfully he was a man with few vices, iron discipline, and almost no secrets.  
  
Almost.  
  
He put down the glass, closed his eyes, and took hold of his still firm erection.  Now that he was alone, he could allow himself a moment of weakness. But, only seconds later, he found himself coughing.  He opened his eyes. The office was full of thick smoke. He leapt to his feet, staggering in the direction of the door, blinded.  A blurry figure stepped out of the fog and grabbed him. Immediately he lashed out, and they fought fiercely. He heard the whiskey glass smash as they collided with the desk.  If only he could reach his gun, dammit. The air was knocked out of him as his back hit the wall and his attacker grabbed his arm. He felt a cuff fasten to his wrist and threw a punch with his other arm, desperate now, panicking.  The smoke skewed his aim and his other arm was grabbed, hauled above his head and shackled. “No!” He thrashed like a wild animal. The cuffs on his wrists rattled against the pipe he’d been bound to.  
  
Ace stood back, waiting for the man to realise his actions were useless, and waiting for the smoke bomb to clear.  He was still struggling as it faded away to a mist. Realising visibility had finally improved, Colonel Doyle furiously shook his glossy black tresses out of his face.  As their eyes met, both men reacted with shock.   
  
“Billy?” Doyle said uncertainly, his voice a mixture of confusion and disbelief.    
Ace tried not to let his own surprise show on his face.  “I’m afraid not, old chum. Name’s Commander Rimmer, but it sounds about right that you’d know my face.”  
“Who are you?” Doyle demanded.  “Who sent you?” He knew all too well he had enemies, but who would have had the resources - or indeed even the idea - to clone his brother and use his likeness against him?  He had done everything he could to keep any contact or involvement with Billy under the radar. Who could possibly know, or even _suspect_...? Come to think of it, they hadn’t even gone out of their way to make this imposter look like Billy.  His hair, clothes and demeanour were all strikingly different. He looked Ace over, curious despite his rage. Was this how Billy might look with sufficient effort and care? He’d need a substantial overhaul of his lifestyle and habits first, that much was sure.  This Rimmer fellow was a long _long_ way from his brother’s current sad physical state.   
  
“You probably won’t believe anything I’m about to tell you,” Ace said easily, taking a seat on the chair Doyle had recently vacated, “but nobody sent me.   I’m not an assassin. I’m an inter-dimensional traveller who jumps between realities trying to do some good. My computer sent me here because word has it that you’ve got something of a nasty murder habit, Colonel.  Thought I should put a stop to it.”  
“You’re right.  I don’t believe it.”  
“You know someone who bears an uncanny resemblance to me, yes?  That’s because every person exists in some form in each dimension.  You must be familiar with your dimension’s version of me, just as I’m familiar with another version of you.  Many versions, in fact. And of myself.”  
“So you’re saying we’ve met before?”  
“In a manner of speaking.  I must say though, you’re very different from all the others I’ve come across, in more ways than one.  They were all significantly less homicidal for a start.” Ace raised an eyebrow, “I like what you’ve done with your hair though.  That’s new. Very stylish.”  
“Are you here to kill me or swap styling tips?” Sebastian snarled.  
“I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.  Is there any chance a strict talking-to would make you change your ways?  A sharp spanking perhaps?” Ace glanced downwards. “Perhaps that would be inappropriate in the circumstances.”  Doyle’s impressive erection was still jutting proudly from the zip of his trousers. Ace silently cursed himself.  Could he really not control himself from flirting with a Lister even when he knew said Lister was a mass-murderer with a horrifying body count behind him?  It was obscene.   
  
“Low trick attacking a man with his trousers down,” Doyle remarked resentfully.  Was that a blush creeping onto his face?  
“Perhaps the office isn’t the best place for such shenanigans.”  
“Please.  Some of the shenanigans this room has seen would give you nightmares.”  
“I don’t doubt it.”  
“You can judge me all you want, but are you really any better?”  
“I don’t like to blow my own trumpet, old glove, but I feel fairly confident in this case that I can say yes.”  
“Really?  How many people have you killed in your quest to make the universe a better place?  Not including my guards?”  
“Your guards are taking a little nap, that’s all.  I’ve only ever killed when I’ve had no other choice.”  
“So have I.”  
“No.  You’ve killed to get what you want.  You’ve killed to gain power and control.  You’ve sacrificed countless lives to impose your will on the world and hold onto your position.”  
“I did it all for the greater good.”  
“You did it all because you believed those people were worth less than you, than your vision and ideology.  I’m here to tell you you’re wrong.”  
“So kill me.  I have my own personal army of followers.  They will take over from me, and continue my work.  And they will hunt you down and destroy you.”  
“Unless they can cross dimensions they’ll struggle with that part.”  
  
“Ace,” the computer’s voice purred in his ear, “I have obtained further information on this universe which is pertinent.”    
Ace gave Sebastian a charming smile.  “Excuse me for just a moment, won’t you?”  
“Do I have a choice?” He rattled the holo-cuffs irritably in response.    
  
Ace ducked out of the room and raised a hand to his ear, “What have you got for me, Computer?”  
“My initial observations regarding this universe were correct.  This place is anomalous.”  
“In what way?”  
“It is new.  It has only existed for a matter of months.  It is also unstable and will soon cease to be.”  
“That can’t be right.  You told me our friend in there has been terrorising the people for years.”  
“He has, but only within the constructs of this reality.  This universe was created with its own fully formed history.  Colonel Doyle, and everyone who exists as part of this dimension, all have memories of its past, of their own past, but they are not events which ever took place in any plane of reality.”  
“So they’re false memories?”  
“No.  They are real memories.  They are all things which these people truly experienced and lived through.  They just never existed until recently.”  
“That makes no sense.”  
“Something created this reality, some kind of stimulus brought it into being.  Now that force has gone it’s falling apart.”  
“So all of this will just wink out of existence?”  
“Within weeks, maybe months at most.”  
“So nothing I do here really matters?  Nothing _he’s_ done really matters?”  
“That is a philosophical conundrum I am unable to compute.”  
  
Ace looked back towards the door.  “I thought it was all a bit peculiar.  I know people can be hugely different from one dimension to the next - god, don’t I know it - but he’s not like any version of Dave Lister I’ve ever met.”  
“That’s because he is not David Lister.  This universe stands apart from all others.  The population is entirely unique. It exists solely within its own framework.”  
“But he _is_ Lister!  And he knows a Rimmer by the sound of it.”  
“No.  He is Colonel Sebastian Doyle and he is not a version, in any sense of the word, of David Lister.  It is likely the same with your counterpart here.”  
“So why are they identical?”  
“Impossible to say without further information.  It is safe to assume that David Lister, or some variation thereof, was involved in creating this reality.  The colonel appears to be an imprint - an avatar perhaps - of David Lister, but they share nothing in terms of genetics.”  
“So, you’re saying that there is no possible chain of events, no sequence of decisions, that would lead to Lister becoming this man?”  
“David Lister is capable of becoming evil.  He may even share certain characteristics with Sebastian Doyle, as he was instrumental to his creation.  But he is not capable of becoming Sebastian Doyle, any more than you are capable of becoming David Lister.  They are separate entities.”  
“I suppose that’s reassuring.”  
  
Back in the office, Sebastian fought to free himself from the holo-cuffs.  He had to get loose. He had to somehow regain control of the situation. For the first time in years, he was truly shaken.  To have been attacked in his own office, overpowered, bound like a prisoner - _him_ \- was horrifying on a visceral level. Galling, yes, but also...frightening.  Colonel Sebastian Doyle suddenly remembered what it felt like to be human, to be vulnerable, and he didn’t like the feeling. A treacherous voice in his mind wondered if this was what it had felt like for his many victims as they had realised they were snared, that all hope now lay in the mercy of another.  Mercy which could not be counted on. He thrashed desperately, hoping to break the piping, but it was welded fast to the wall.  
  
It wouldn’t even be so bad if it wasn’t for that _face_.  That damned face that had haunted him for years. What hideous twist of irony had sent this man in the image of his brother to torment him?    
  
For years he’d been barely aware of even having a brother.  He knew in a vague hushed way that Mama had been married once before, but that was a long time ago.  Before he was born. She’d had a baby named William with that man, whoever he was, but that man had disappeared, and no-one ever spoke of him, and William had been sent to a school far away.  He did not come home for holidays, and soon enough Sebastian had been sent away too, and came home for holidays only rarely. It didn’t trouble him, he did not miss his parents. Mama was distant and father terrifying.  A quiet perfectionist by nature, he focused on his studies.   
  
It had been on one of those rare visits home, during the summer of his seventeenth year, that he had first met his half-brother.  Mama had introduced him to a tall young man in his early twenties with diamond white curls and striking hazel eyes, and coolly informed him that this was William.  Sebastian had been half-tempted to ask her if she was sure. It seemed impossible that he could be related to this man, let alone his brother. They were total physical opposites.  They had gazed at each other in mutual fascination as they shook hands. “Call me Billy.”  
  
William had not stayed long.  It had become rapidly apparent that father loathed him and Sebastian wasn’t surprised.  Not only was he a glaring reminder of Mama’s previous marriage (and father hated the idea she had had a life before him, or indeed a life outside of him now) but William was everything he despised.  He smoked, drank, gambled, and went out to bars and clubs in the evening. Sometimes he played music in his room, something that had always been forbidden. Sebastian had found himself both horrified and intrigued.  
  
William seemed equally intrigued by him.  They had spoken only a little, but watched each other almost constantly from a safe distance, like neighbouring cats sizing each other up.  William was like nobody else he’d ever met, but he had seen his mysterious older brother observing him too on more than one occasion, as he swam in the pool or sunbathed on the grass.  It was natural, he supposed. They were an enigma to each other, given their separate upbringings. It felt rather nice to be interesting for once in his life.  
  
Inevitably, things had steadily escalated with father, ending in a fierce row that had taken place on the driveway in the early hours of the morning, as William stumbled back drunk from another night of debauchery.  Awoken by the shouting, he had watched timidly from the window as his father and brother had hurled insults at each other in the darkness. And then, the unthinkable had happened. He didn’t hear what was said, but William had hauled back and punched father in the face, knocking him out cold on the gravel.  He still remembered the gasp of shock that had convulsed his entire body. The ambivalent feelings of shock, terror, and...was that admiration?  
  
He’d watched William storm past their aghast mother into the house, heard his footsteps pound angrily up the stairs to the bedroom and the slam of the door.  He tiptoed down the hallway. Mama was already on the phone downstairs, calling for the doctor. Sebastian wondered if her next call would be to the police. He tentatively pushed open William’s door.  He was throwing his belongings into his suitcase. He hesitated guiltily when he saw him. “Sorry about all the fuss, kid. Looks like I’m moving on.”  
“You punched him.”  
“You saw that, eh?  Well, I’d like to say I’m sorry, but it would be a lie.”  
“You’d better get out of here before he comes round.  He’s got a gun and I think he’d use it.”  
“I have no doubt.”  William snapped the clasp of his case closed.  “No offence, but your father is an almighty prick.  You want my advice? Get out of this house as soon as you can.”  
“Where are you going to go?”  
“I’ve got friends.  Don’t worry about me.”  
“I’m sorry we didn’t get to know each other better.”  He wasn’t sure what else to say. “I’ll miss having you around, Billy.”  
William looked touched, but there was another expression too.  One Sebastian didn’t quite understand. “Yeah, you too. I’ll miss this face.”  He reached up to gently stroke Sebastian’s cheek.  
  
And all in one breathless, frightening, sickening moment, seventeen year old Sebastian had realised that this feeling - this strange friction and fascination they shared - actually wasn’t brotherly, or natural, at all.  The sound of Mama’s footsteps outside the door made them both whip round guiltily. “Sebastian, go to your room this instant.”  
  
He had fled; from the situation, from those terrifying shameful feelings, and thrown himself into first school and then work.  William was never mentioned in their house again. It would be six years before their next meeting. Six years that would radically change them both.  
  
  
Ace sauntered back into the room.  Sebastian made no effort to hide the fact he was trying to escape.  “Hate to sound smug but it’s a bit pointless,” Ace told him. “Holo-cuffs are fairly inescapable.  Sorry if it’s all rather uncomfortable.”  
“If you’re going to kill me just get it over with,” Sebastian raged.  
“Hold that thought, old chum.  Let’s have a little chat before we make any rash decisions.”  Oddly enough, now that he knew this man wasn’t Lister, he could almost see it.  Those deep dark eyes pierced him like blades, unblinking and unforgiving. There was nothing in there of the kind inquisitive look he associated with his favourite scouser.  No, David Lister was not in there.   
  
Sebastian felt the depth of that gaze scrutinising him, and felt goosebumps on his skin.  This was disturbing. To feel those eyes on him in this humiliating state twisted his guts.  He couldn’t bear it. Ace lit a cigar, and as if reading his mind said, “Tell me about this Billy.”  
“Why?”  
“Just curiosity, nothing more.”  
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”  
“No offence, old glove, but he can’t be worse than you.”  
“That depends on your point of view.  He’s a useless drunk.”  
“Some might say there are more heinous crimes.”  
“Whatever.  He could have been someone, and he chose to be a nothing.  He’s a mess. A complete waste of space.”  
  
Ace shrugged this off.  If Sebastian wasn’t Lister, then he wasn’t Billy, so what did it matter?  If there was one thing most versions of Arnold Rimmer actually seemed to have in common, it was the ability to keep their...urges in check.  Either way, he’d seen too many good men lost to addiction to judge. “You two don’t exactly have a rosy relationship then?” he enquired casually.  
“No,” Sebastian replied shortly.  Too shortly.  
Ace raised an eyebrow at the sharp tone, “Judging by your response I’d say there’s a bit more to it.”  
“He’s a pathetic loser and a thorn in my side.  That’s all.”  
“But you haven’t killed him.  Why not? We both know you’re not squeamish.”  
“None of your damn business.”  
Ace drew on his cigar.  “Like that, eh? Sounds like it’s all a bit complicated.”  
Sebastian made a vaguely disgusted sound.  “You have no idea. Trust me. _No_ idea.”  
“Well, perhaps some idea,” Ace said thoughtfully.  “I’ve lost count of how many dimensions I’ve crossed through, how many crazy things I’ve seen.  But you’re right, this isn’t my business, and I don’t know your story. For the first time in years, I can honestly say I don’t really know anything about this situation.  So I think the best thing I can do is leave it alone.”  
  
He eased himself up.  Should he tell Doyle what he knew?  That this universe was unstable and he didn’t have long left before it all collapsed in on itself and everything here ceased to be?  What good could it possibly do? “You’re not going to kill me?” Doyle asked suspiciously.  
“No.”  
“Isn’t that why you came here?”  
“Killing you will change nothing in the grand scheme of things.”  He paused before adding grudgingly, “And even though you aren’t the version of you I know...and you undoubtedly deserve it...I’m not ashamed to say that I would find killing you somewhat distressing.”  
“Then let me out of these cuffs.”  
“I’m not silly, old chum.”  
“Neither am I.  I will take death before dishonour any day, and I will not let my squad, or anyone, see me like this.”  
“Perhaps it might do you good to be brought down a peg or two.”  
“No.  Kill me here and now if you must.  But you leave me to be found chained up with my cock hanging out, and I’m dead in more ways than one.  Understand?” The intensity of his voice was terrifying.  
  
“I’ll loosen them before I go,” Ace acquiesced quietly, after a moment’s consideration.  “You’ll be able to work yourself free by morning.” He stubbed out his cigar. “Do me a favour in return and knock it off with the torture and murder.  I can always come back. Just because I don’t want to kill you, doesn’t mean I won’t.” The threat was empty and sounded it. He wouldn’t be coming back.  Sebastian looked at him closely. “No, you won’t. And you knew you wouldn’t from the second you saw my face.”  
“Don’t be so sure.”  
“We’re very close, aren’t we?  In all those other dimensions?”  
  
How to answer that question?  Ace heard a tremor of something in Sebastian’s voice.  It was barely there, but it was enough to touch his heart and make it ache.  Perhaps this universe wasn’t so different after all. “In one sense or another, yes.”  
  
Their eyes met in a long, horribly awkward moment of shared pain.  “I don’t know if I should tell you this,” Ace sighed heavily. “I don’t know if it will help you or make things worse.  Maybe it will make no difference at all. This place has its own rules, it seems.” He walked over and loosened the holo-cuffs by two notches.  He didn’t step back when it was done. He stayed looking down into those beautiful brown eyes. He felt Sebastian hold his breath, tense as a violin string, brittle as eggshell.  “In every universe,” Ace whispered, “there’s a you, and there’s a me. And in every damn universe there’s this between us. It’s constant and it’s inescapable. Sometimes it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s ugly, sometimes it’s goddam tragic.  But it’s always there. None of us can control it; not you, not your friend Billy, and certainly not me. Even here and now, looking at maybe the worst human being I’ve ever come across in my life, I can’t control it. It’s that strong. I want you, I can feel you wanting me.  We’re all helpless against it, like a law of physics. Fuck Billy, or don’t. I don’t know what version of this mess you two are in. But it won’t go away. Ever.”  
  
Sebastian stared at him in numb shock.  The words cut through him like claws. He was frozen to the spot.  He was seventeen again, standing in Billy’s bedroom, those same eyes looking into his as that hand touched his face, facing the most horrifying realisation of his life.  The realisation they would both spend the rest of their lives running from. That would turn Billy into the human wreckage he was....and turn _him_ into what he was. A creature so afraid of those feelings that he’d crushed any and all connection to emotion and humanity out of himself years ago.  His naked cock was erect again, pulsing hard against Ace’s thigh, their lips centimetres apart, and he was both sickened and enthralled by it. He didn’t have time to say no before Ace’s mouth was on his, and that firm thigh was rubbing against him, and in his current state of frayed composure it only took seconds before... no, no, no no.  He couldn’t. Not like this. He didn’t do this with anyone, he _could_ _not_ do it with him. **_Not_** **_with_** **_him_**. But he was helpless to stop it.  
  
He screamed, his eyes screwed shut tight.  He couldn’t bear the feeling of being watched in this instant, so exposed, so weak, but more than anything he couldn’t handle seeing that face.  It would tip him over the edge into madness he was sure, if he wasn’t there already. The orgasm shook him with its intensity and he slumped back against the wall, feeble and nauseous.  
  
Ace let go of him and stepped back, feeling disgusted with himself.  He turned away, trying to pull himself together. “Sorry about that, Colonel.  That was wrong of me. But as I said, it’s like physics. We’re magnets, you and I, compulsively drawn to each other, and there’s nothing to be done about it.”  He squared his shoulders. “I’ll be on my way now. You can wriggle out of the cuffs with a bit of effort. Remember what I said, though. No naughty killing people when my back is turned.”  He headed for the door. Sebastian’s voice stopped him. It was broken, devastated, barely more than a whisper.  
  
“He’s my brother.”  
  
The words hit Ace like a punch to the gut.  He physically staggered, a wave of revulsion, recrimination, and pity sweeping over him.  What could he say? There were no words. “I’m sorry,” he settled for limply. Sebastian let out a sob.  Ace almost ran for the door, back to Wildfire. He felt dirty and hollow. He didn’t even want to think how Doyle must be feeling.    
  
As he took off and built up speed for the next jump, he thought he’d never been so relieved to leave a universe behind, or know that it would soon implode and disappear forever.  
  
  



End file.
